In a substrate processing apparatus that performs vacuum processing such as film formation or etching on a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, referred to as a “wafer”), a process module having a plurality of process chambers in which the wafer is processed under a vacuum atmosphere is installed in order to increase the productivity of the wafer. In addition, a transfer module for transferring a substrate under an air atmosphere is connected to the process module, and a load lock module having a plurality of load lock chambers configured to switch between the air atmosphere and the vacuum atmosphere is installed between the process module and the transfer module.
For example, there is a semiconductor processing apparatus according to the related art which includes a process cluster having a plurality of process chambers that operate under a vacuum, an equipment front end module (EFEM) for supplying a wafer to the plurality of process chambers, and two load locks installed between the process cluster and the EFEM.
In the conventional substrate processing apparatus, however, although the processing capability of the substrate is increased, there is a problem that the installation area of the substrate processing apparatus increases due to an increase in size of each module such as the process module or the like (see FIGS. 8 to 14).